She Could Have Said "Kiss My Big Posterior." But She Didn't; And That's The Difference.

For those of you who have been reading The Critical Thinker for any length of time you just had to know that I was not going to let this opportunity pass to write about the comments made about our first lady Michelle Obama by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner. Once again Abraham Lincoln’s Quote of “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt” comes into play. Representative Sensenbrenner is lucky Mrs. Obama did not speak what was probably on her mind (and justifiably so) when she heard about the comments which was probably to kiss her big behind; but unlike him, she had more class than that or at least sense enough to keep her thoughts to herself.

I don't know what it is about these folks who truly think they can say anything and it not go unaddressed. A little over two years ago in 2009 South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson (R) yelled out "You lie!" during President Obama's major health care speech when he said the legislation would not mandate coverage for undocumented immigrants. Even the Associated Press picked up on the fact that it wasn't the only interruption during President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress in the House of Representatives. Earlier, Republicans laughed when Obama acknowledged that there were still significant details to be worked out before a health overhaul could be passed. Wilson's outburst caused the president to pause briefly before he went on with his speech. In attendance at the speech, First Lady Michelle Obama shook her head from side to side. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner's latest remarks caused me to shake my head as well; as the kids can text and tweet “SMH.” In both instances representatives Wilson and Sensenbrenner sent letters and words of apology, but similar to a judge asking a jury to strike the last comment in a court room, the damage was done as it had been heard. Try as we might to forget what we’ve heard, the bottom line is we don't. While both Representatives Wilson and Sensenbrenner feign that their commentary was a mistake or an emotional outburst, the truth of the matter is their subconscious or their inner thoughts were just making their way outward. Their brains for some reason stop suppressing what they were thinking. You cannot make this critical thinker believe that what was said was not already deep within. Interestingly enough, when these types of comments are made either alcohol or an open microphone is involved, however, in these two instances both men were fully sober and aware of what they were saying.

One could argue that derogatory things are said about every president and first lady and that may be the case, however, it still does not excuse the behavior. When you think about it, it really is a matter of respect or lack thereof. Even if Rep. Wilson thought President Obama was a liar it would have behooved him to keep his thoughts to himself and the same holds true for Rep. Sensenbrenner concerning the size of Mrs. Obama’s posterior. In both of these cases it would have been better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to have opened their mouths and removed all doubt. In this critical thinker’s eyes both Representatives Wilson and Rep. Sensenbrenner have removed ALL doubt and are thought by me to be FOOLS. As the old adage goes, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. I welcome your commentary in the comment section of the blog.